Hopeless
by starrybubble
Summary: What happens when Max and the Flock meet some new mutants? FYI, this story is filled with romance and adventure, and a little bit, actually, a lot of craziness! LOTS of OCs!STANG AND MINX! HIATUS!
1. Starr: The Beginning

I glanced over to where Petal was giggling next a very harassed looking Shine. Velocity was intently gazing at the laptop on his, well, lap, and Wynd was, once again, gazing at Aquais, while eating potato chips _and_ reading a book. Where was Jinx? He was supposed to be here by now, I mean, it couldn't have taken that long just to get pizza!

"Starr…?" called Petal. I looked back over to those huge green eyes framed by light brown hair.

"Yeah?" I replied, hoping that she hadn't hurt Moxie again, and really, really, hoping that Sam was still sleeping. He had been having a "timeout" because I didn't want to let us go to Paris just so we could eat donuts on top of the Eiffel Tower. After pouting for a good three hours, Sam had finally dozed off and we had some temporary peace and quiet.

"I'm hungry." The eight year old did looked pretty shabby, and her face desperately needed some washing. "Where's Jinx?"

"Uh…c'mon Petal, we should have a couple bagels left in the box. Let me get you one of those."

"No. I want pizza. I'll tie you up if we don't have any." At this threat, I backed off, because a few vines on the ground were glowing and stirring in the dirt.

Let me do a quick recap for you.

My name is Starr, and I'm a human-feline hybrid. Not, not like meow-meow kitties, but large, ferocious jungle cats. Everyone else, save for Sam and Petal, are human-avian mutants. Sam and Petal are siblings, the only two of us who are related, and they are part fox. Me? I'm fourteen, and so are Velocity, Shine, Aquais and Wynd. Petal's only eight, and Sam's six. And Moxie is our…pet, if you can call it that. She's a wolf, and a pretty huge one at that, too. We have absolutely no idea how old she is.

You see, we all were born in a regular hospitals, with regular homes and families and the usual slobbery pet. Then, at the age of four, all of us were brought to this huge building called…well, it has no name. That's why it's kind of creepy.

We were all injected with this pink stuff that made us fall asleep almost instantly, then, we were injected with something else. Who knows what. Then, the six of us, me, Jinx, Shine, Velocity, Aquais and Wynd, were all brought to this huge white room. That's where we woke up. I woke up first, and all I could see was the dark and lanky hair of Wynd, the chocolatey hair of Shine, Jinx's pale brown head, Velocity's pure black hair, and Aquais's dingy brown hair with red streaks. And I _hurt_. Like crazy. Like someone was digging into my head and back and hands with razor sharp nails, and I couldn't move. Eventually, Jinx woke up, then the other girls, then the other guys. They hurt too, but only on their backs, near their shoulders. We were all too groggy to actually get up and inspect while we were hurting.


	2. Fang: Who?

Fang glanced up from his blog. Something was not... right. He could hear things moving.

_I must be crazy! _he thought _It's midnight, no one's up but me._

Still, he could hear rustling, and a few labored pants. Fang got up quickly. He looked over to where Max was sleeping. She looked peaceful. Deciding not to wake her up, Fang walked over to Iggy. He was already awake, staring up at the sky with his sightless eyes.

"Wasup, Fang? What're those noises."

Fang grimly smiled. Of course Iggy would have heard the noises way before he had.

A stick broke. There was a muffled hiss, and then the whole forest became utterly silent.

Fang looked towards Max, she was sitting up now, obviously have been woken up by the snap. As she looked toward him, Fang read the silent question in her eyes. _Who is that?_

A question he would find the answer to.

He leapt into the air, and snapped out his wings, Max and Iggy right behind him. Max twirled her pinky in the air, their silent signal to split up.

Fang angled toward where he first heard the noises. He saw smoke rising into the air, and the dull orange glow of dying embers.

There were dark silhouettes around the glow, but not many. Less than ten. Fang looked at them, before deciding that he would take all of them down, without Max.

Angling his wingtips, Fang glided slowly toward the area, before realising that these weren't erasers, or M-Geeks, or Flyboys. _Ugh, newbies. They look like normal human people. Maybe their a new kind of freak._

Careful, Fang, I can;t get a reading on them, so you should watch out.

_Angle, you're supposed to be slepping._

Chastised, Fang felt Angel withdraw from his mind.

Gliding even closer, he saw who their leader was. A short, tiny girl who was glaring at a dude with long, rangy dark hair and dark-ish skin. There were more behind them, more people. One was timidly walking up to them, as her shoulders moved when she was walking, then a pair of wings unfurled slowly.

_They're like us!_

But not all of them, the dude who the girl was looking at had sharp fangs, and a tail, and pointed ears sticking up from his mop of hair. His hands were normal, but as Fang watched, claws slid out from the tips of his fingers, and he started shredding a tree.

Just then, unknowingly, Fang hit a branch, and fell, half unconsious, right in front of the girl.

**Sorry for the cliffie!  
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	3. Starr: I'm Schwartzenegger

OMIGOD!!!WHOA!!! It's a dude! Who fell from the sky and landed at my feet and he's got wings! Wait... does that make him an angel?

Okay, so there i was, glaring at Jinx while he was making up excuses about nwhy he was three hours late and only had half a slice of pizza for a bunch of mutants and a wolf dog to share. Then he started telling me all this random junk about how he was struck down by a bunch of broccoli eating zombies, and about how i should be thankful that he even got away with his life, let alone a slice of pizza. And then--

WHAM!!! This guy just fell from a tree branch, right at my feet. He was groaning and started talking some gibberish about this Max dude and something about gas and angels, and something else about blind pyros. After this, Petal got really freaked out and knocked him out by karate choping his head. Petal can be scary sometimes.

But the weirdest part is, he's got wings too!

Okay, maybe i should back up a little to where i ended my handy-dandy flashback. So, when the six deluded four year old woke up, we discovered that four of us had got wings implanted onto their backs. I know, gross. But me and Jinx were given the feline gene, so we had retractable claws, fuzzy ears, and tails. Along with the super cool ability to jump really high AND climb things with lightning fast speed. Or, at least, i can. Jinx is kinda slow. But he's really strong.

Then, a few years later, a different little kid came along with ehr little brother and they both got fow genes, so they're really sneaky and quiet and smart. Plus, there's always the odd extra power like control of nature (Petal), control of water (Aquais), a bit of wind power (Wynd), all light-controly, like Shine, and a bit weird with extra-super speed, like Velocity. Jinx was a weirdo, 'cause his power changes every day. Once, he could change colors of things just by thinking about stuff, and then he could turn invisible, then...well...i won't go into the details of the next one. But let's just say he got a time-out for using his powers. Sam can shrink. and grow.

Yeah...we picked up Moxie when we were escaping, but she was a puppy back then, and we had no idea that she sould grow up to be this huge. She's larger than i am.

Wait... i think the freak-unconcious-dude is waking up!

"Whoa. Where am I."the dude opened his eyes, which, BTW, are really dark and unreadable, and just stared at me. Me! Ok, secretly, I'mm flattered. Of all the people he could've stared at, he chose me. Okay! Back up Starr! Return to reality!

Of course, i didn't open my mouth, and Jinx started his and blabbed about how he was trapped, and don't bother escaping, and that resistance was futile, until Petal whacked him with a branch, causing Jinx to shut up and double over.

"You're here." If he didn't wan't to talk much, then i didn't have to either. "Who are you?"

"Fang."

Nice name. Fang. I wonder if it's a nickname for something like Fangimillain, or da Fangulator. Or Fangalicious. :-)

"Do you have wings?" i asked. Then i mentally smacked myself. Nice way of being mysterious and aloof. Cool. Detatched. M,aybe i need another mental slap.

Fang stared at me again, and shook his shoulders. A pair of black wings unfolded, casting black shadows on his black shirt and balck pants and black hair.

Wow. Emo much?

"Who are you."

This dude din't say things like they were questions. He said them in a monotone. V. creepy.

"I am Starr."

OK, time to freak this kid out.

I smiled, exposing my viciously long lethal-looking fangs and letting my claws as lond as daggers show and letting my tail curl up and my ears flatten down on top of my black hair.

Fang looked unimpressed. "Nice teeth." Then, he yawned. Yawned! Okay, this kid is not making it through the night! Maybe i shoiuld try being all macho and tough.

"Take me to your Leader!" Okay...that didn't work out. Now i sound like Arnold Schwartzenegger. Fang smiled. Ooh..I'm really thinking about killing this guy now.

No. Fang smiled. Again.


	4. Fang: FREAKS!

**Fang: You know you have to.  
Me: But I don't want to!!!!!  
Fang: *glares*  
Me: Okay Fine. I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE OR ANY OF THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS. Happy, Fang?  
Fang: Very *smirks***

Okay, I'm really confused here. I wake up, not even knowing how i passed out, and there's a lump the size of an egg on my head. I open my eyes just a crack, and i see the leader girl yelling at cat-boy. What is it with girls wanting to be the boss? She was small, with sorta poofy black hair and bright blue eyes, the color of the afternoon sky. The boy she was yelling at had pale brown hair, long and shaggy, framing black eyes. There were more, i decided, more people than in my flock, and some huge animal was breathing hot wet breaths somwhere close to my head.

Great, when i make it back to max, I'm never gonna complain about total slobbering again. If i make it back. I still have absolutely no idea whatsoever if these mutants are nice, or enemies.

Oh, great. The leader dudette just looked at me, and she knows i'm awake. Oh boy.

Wow, the dude talks alot. Some girl who looks around Gazzy's age had to knock him on the head with a stick. But the creept part was, she wasn't touching the stick. It just moved, but i knew the girl was controlling it.

Okay, so then the the leader started asking me all these questions, like a police interview. And i, once again the man of many words, answered in monosyllables.

Okay, so then she told me to take her to my leader. To max.

I can't do that!!! No, i can't hurt Max, my Max. And the rest of the Flock matters too!

So, I told her i'd take her, if she'd let me go. Did i mention they'd tied me up? No?

Okay, so they untied me, but then they strapped one of those ridiculously small baby leashes around my chest. And then, they told me to fly. This dude called Velocity was holding the end of the leash and every once in a while he'd cry giddy-up.

Stupid Velocity.

Okay, then this girl who practically salivates over him came over and slapped him everytime he treated me like a pony. I think she just used my suffering as an excuse to touch him.

No, Fang. Don 't be mean. The girl, Shine, i think, was like the mommy of the group. Flock. Whatever.

Okay, so now, here i am, on a _leash_, flying toward Max and the flock, while being patroled by a huge dog-thing and a six-year old with wicked abilities, waaaaay worse than Angel's.

I am officially creeped out. These mutants are freaks. [Not to say that I'm not one.] I accidentally had to go, and i started blindly stumbling thorugh the forest. I had just turned around this wide oak tree when i saw Shine and Velocity. _Kissing_. I think that brought out my inner girly-girl and i just had to go "Aaaaawwww." Note to self: Velocity can slap people pretty hard.

"Aaaaawwww."

What? I couldn't help myself!

Wait...

I think...

We've reached the flock.

Oh my god.


	5. Max: What just happened

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE. BUT I DO OWN EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS STORY:-)**

What. The. Heck.

Okay, so Fang shows up on a LEASH, along with a bunch of other mutant ,freak-peoples, and he still won't say anything, and these mutants started making friends with all my flock, and i have absolutely no say in any of this,and OMIGOD i think Iggy's checking one of them out (sexist pig), even though he can't see, and Fang's still on his leash an--

Oh no! I'm turning into Nudge! *sob*

But there's one really cute dude. He's got large green eyes, and has this shaggy light brown hair, and the cutest shaped face...

Wait. Did i just say that? No!!! Bad Max! Stop it! You have a world to save! Boys are not the priority here!

They're led by this girl named Starr. She's cool, doesn't say much, not at all like the rest of her troop. Then there's her twin, Wynd. I think her boyfriend, Aquais, just went and knocked the stars out of Iggy. Ouch. Then there's this other girl, Shine, who is ahb-sessed with this dude named Velocity. Just kidding. She's cool. Then there're these two little kids, who are brown haired and angelic and fragile looking. Once, i sidled over to Starr and asked her why she traveled with kids who were obsessed with bubbles. She just gave me this _are you crazy?_ look, and then told Petal, the older one, to break a tree, and she did. Without even touching it. Whoa. Creepy. I have no idea how she did it, and I'm kinda scared to ask. But there is no way I'm admitting that.

So, at the moment, the total flock is...Me, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, Total, Starr, Jinx, Velocity, Shine, Wynd, Aquais, Petal, Sam, and Moxie. Their huge wolf-dog Moxie, who is officially Total's new girlfriend. A few minutes before they arrived, Total rushed over from one of his phone dates with Akila, crying "She dumped me! For a poodle! Oh, the dreadful sense of irony in the world."

Whatever.

But then, Moxie showed up and Total's eyes kind of went all large and droopy, and I swear, he started drooling a little. Moxie was like a puppy the minute she met him. And she can talk too. But not out loud. She can just project her thought into other's minds. And read minds. She's a doggy Angel.

O mi gosh. I'm scared for the future of the flock now.

So, other han the nine new additions, nothing's new. Gazzy's already calling our group the "Superflock".

Things were all fine and dandy until our enemies showed up.

These were not M-Geeks. Or erasers. They were giant...normal people. So naturally, we thought that it would just be average tourists. Until they pulled out their guns and aimed.

"Surrender Max-ah-mahm Ride. We have got you surrounded. Surrender. Surrender. Escape is futile. All ways of escaping are considered futile. Ecape shall prove to be futile."

Man i was mad by now. "Okay. We get the point. Now leave before we kick your butts to China." They shot their guns, once, twice.

Then i was falling. Leaving. Floating. Sinking under a pool of black. Far away, above the surface, I could hear a few shouts and hollers. Then... it all went away.

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**A/N: Okay, everyone. You have to review if you want to know what happens next. I'm not joking!**

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	6. Starr and Velocity: Uh oh

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE. BUT I DO OWN EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS STORY:-)**

**Thank you, silentivy, and alex ride for reviewing chapter 5. I'm glad you liked the new characters and the cliffie.**

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** Starr POV:**

I woke up with _the_ worst headache ever! I mean, seriously! It's ike someone was drilling peices of bambo into my brain! Ugh, it's just like that day when i was four and i woke up with---

O no. This can't be happening. Not again! I've managed to avoid these creeps for soooo long. Ten whole years. And then my past caught up with me. Hey, at least i wasn't alone. There was Max, Jinx, and Fang. In dog crates. Whoa! They've upgraded. The first time I was here, they used litterboxes. With protective, teeny weeny force fields. Ugh. Let's not go there, shall we?

Hey, Fang and I were stuck in the same dog crate. Great, there's a recipe for awkwardness. At least Jinx had to be stuck with Max. Not that he wouldn't want to. Those two are getting quite comfy with eachother. Fang's already awake, rubbing his head with one hand, and trying to pick the lock of our crate with the other. Once he registered that i was awake, he looked over and said "You OK?"

Ooh. Two whole words. Wow. I'm impressed. But I can beat that. Wordlessly, I nodded. Fang looked away for a sec, and I used this time to check out the room. It was a large white room, with nothing that could be used as weapons, like clocks or tube lights. The only light in the room came from a tiny little sunroof in the slanting ceiling, a opening so tiny I doubted even Sam or Angel coul squeeze through. And they're pretty thin. So much for escape. Hey, where's Fang?

He was here just a second ago! And the doors were still locked, and it was impossible to break out of these crates, since we could barely move. I carefully started poking around with my ankle, to see if i could the extra spce to my advantage. I went about three millimeters before hitting something soft-ish.

"Ow!" a deep voice whispered.

"_Fang_?" I cried, maybe a little to loud. I could hear hurried footsteps in the hallways somewhere else, and then Fang reappeared from nowhere, clutching his stomach and wincing. And looking a little confused. Was he invisible? You know, I wasn't going to say anything. I'll just wait until some other time. Mybe some time where WE WEREN'T PRISONERS! Okay Starr, don't overrreact.

The footsteps got louder, and then this hidden door burst open.

A man stepped into the room, and then our four voices were yelling.

"Jeb!"

"Hal!

Now it was my turn to be confused. Jeb? No, this was Hal Sarvelky. The man who broke us out of that horrible nameless torture chamber. Where i wasted my life. Fang turned his dark, deep eyes on mine. "Do you know this man?" I was momentarily lost in his eyes, and when i spoke it was in a trance.

"Yes. He rescued me, many, many years ago." At this point, Jinx had to break in.

"He rescued all of us, you mean." By this time, i turned away from Fang's eyes and looked at Hal/Jeb. He was skinnier, and he had bags under his eyes. His hair was gray, not the vivid chestnut brown i was used to. He looked like he should have grandchildren sitting on his knees. Not holding a syringe and a surgical mask.

"You? 91987? Great. I forgot to tell him that i have a real name now.

"I go by Starr now. Not 91987."

Hal looked at me. Then at Max. "Max?" he said a little uncertainly. He even looked a little scared. Meanwhile, Max was absolutely livid.

"You....YOU? You're working for them now? I thought...you had changed. Max looked at me, then back at Jeb. Hold on, was she a little sad? "Did you trick them now too? Thought that now we knew your secret, that you wouls just go scam a few other kids? Did you abandon them too? Defenseless? I bet you think it's funny. Like releasing a bunch of butterfies into the world, then forgetting about them. Or, in our case, tracking them down and chaining them up!" she was positively steaming now, spitting her knotted hair out of her mouth and shaking so hard that Jinx was hugging her, trying to get her to calm down. Wait--hugging her?

"Listen Max, Fang, 919--I mean, Starr. And you." he added a bit uncertainly, looking at Jinx. "I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you everything."

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**Velocity POV:**

I woke up with a split lip, a few broken fingers, and a black eye. I glanced over at Shine, desperately wanting to see if she was okay. She was sitting up, looking over the children's cuts and bruises, and i think Petal's arm was broken.

Aquais was up too, staring at Wynd with a weird emotion in his eyes. Wynd was still sleeping, one hand still curled intom a fist.

I shuddered as i remembered last night. They had surrounded us, holding guns and four large garbage bags. They hadn't waited for us to actually assume fighting positions, they had just shot down Jinx, Starr, Max and Fang. The four holding the garbage bags quickly stuffed their unconsiouc bodies in the bag and ran off. Or, should i say, flew off. They sprouted wings.

"We are the new Generation. Beta II." It was their leader, a pudgy boy with flaming red hair and so many freckles it made his face look tanned. "We are faster." As if to demonstrate, two of them raced off into the woods and came back. In less time that it would have taken me to blink. "We are stronger." The pudgy leader picked up a huge rock, and crushed it into fine powder with his thumb and index finger. He smiled grimly. "We are better."

I really don't remember what happened next, because there was a big flurry of kicking at shouting, and then, before the fight even really started, they flew off, leaving us bloody and disheveled.

Then, we all just fell asleep, without dinner. Even though i was really hungry.


	7. Everyone: Ugh

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE. BUT I DO OWN EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS STORY:-)**

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**MaxPOV: **

This was not good. Not good at all. Jeb, the traitor, had been "rescuing" other mutants for ages, apparently, and hadn't said a word. Oh... and there I was, thinking that we were his favorite, and I guess that just makes one more thing he lied about. And now he says he'll tell us the truth. Yeah...right... Oh no. There he goes again.

"Jeb isn't my real name. Or Hal." He begins, "My real name is Sheldon. I come from New York city. I never wanted to work for the school." At this point, gave him a hard stare and was satisfied when he gulped and looked down. "I was taken here too. But I'm not a hybrid. Once, I was walking from my way back to college, and I heard these muffled screams coming from a side alley. When I looked there, all I saw were these two little kids, being stuffed into sacks and oughly thrown in a dingy white Ice cream truck. So, before I could run away, these two men saw me. But they weren't really men.

"They were dog-people, the prototypes of Erasers and Flyboys. I tell you, I was terrified. Before I could react, I was also grabbed and shoved into the van. They were cruel people, only lettng the kids out so they could use the bathroom, and never feeding them. But they fed me. Every night, I would hide some of the slop that they gave me and later give it to the children. I don't what happened to those kids, they were probably eliminated. But their names were Ben and Maggie." Je---Sheldon broke off here, looking thoroughly dejected. I almost sympathized him. Almost.

"Days later, when we reached the School, I was taken out of the truck and brought to the Director. She was younger then." He looked vague and I had a strong urge to say _Duh. _But I didn't. "She offered me two choices. Work, or be deported. I chose to work. I thought that I would later be allowed to go home." he added bitterly.

That was when an intercom buzzed, asking for him. He let abruptly, leaving us. Great. Hey, at least if I was going to be stuck in a dog crate, surrounded by Whitecoats, and _Jeb_ of all people, at least I was sitting next to Jinx.

Okay...so I forgot to tell you. Me and Fang ("Fang and I" for you Grammar freaks), are kind of a couple now. Okay, so all you Fax fans out there must have screamed or something. But seriously, we are only kinda together. I mean... no mushy eeeeewwwww kind of things. At ALL! Mostly we just hug and stuff for Angel's benefit. But now...Jinx...

I think I have to break up with Fang.

What!?!?!?!?!?!

Me...who has crushed on Fang ever since we were four... break up with Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious? I...can't. But, I have to!!! I can't ignore Jinx! He's...better than Fang! For me, at least.

That Starr kid, she can have him. Okay, so I'm Max, kick-Eraser-butt, save-the-world Max, but even I know what love looks like. Oh...just peachy. I'm turning into a mushy movie scene.

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**Fang POV:**

Stupid Max. Stupid emotions. Stupid whitecoats. Stupid Jeb-Hal-Sheldon--whatever. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Who's he guy who even invented dog crates.

I wanna punch him in the face.

With a cheese grater.

Grr.

**Starr POV:**

Wow. I'm pretty stunned. And let me tell you, after living with Jinx, it takes a lot for me to get stunned.

Wow.

Hey, but at least we'll get out of this. We've always gotten out of things. Always. My-- Our-- flock will come find us.

Hopefully.

**IGGY POV:**

Ow. My head hurts. And thats unusual.

Today's not my good day.


End file.
